Congressional Management of Alleged Drug Use in Baseball?

Paul Weyrich

2/28/2008 3:25:06 PM - Paul Weyrich

The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent
Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance
Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, otherwise
known as the "Mitchell Report," shocked much of the American public upon
its release in December 2007. The Report, a result of former United
States Senator George J. Mitchell's twenty-month investigation into the
use of so-called performance-enhancing drugs in major league baseball,
contained many names that few expected to see on the list, including
Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, both pitchers. Clemens is a seven-time
Cy Young Award winner, two more than any other pitcher, and is
considered one of the greatest in baseball history.

Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig noted when the Report
was released that those it named potentially would face disciplinary
sanctions. Whether he acts remains to be seen. Many blame Selig for
encouraging drug use in order to boost interest in the game after the
lengthy strike in the mid-1990s.

Clemens, his reputation and achievements under question, may find it
difficult to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a significant
blow considering how long he has been in the league and the many
accolades he has won.

Such a punishment, however, proved insufficient for many over-eager
politicians in Congress anxious to wring some publicity out of the
Mitchell Report. On February 12 the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform held the first of two hearings on the issue. The
hearing was entitled "Myths and Facts about Human Growth Hormone, B12,
and Other Substances" and included four witnesses - a deputy director of
the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, an associate professor of
medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, a professor of
clinical pediatrics at the University of Virginia, and a medical doctor
with the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hospital for Joint
Diseases. What does a professor of pediatrics have to do with steroids
in professional baseball?

The following day the Committee held another hearing on the subject.
This hearing was much more prominent because Clemens himself testified,
as did his trainer, who leveled the accusations against him in the first
place, as well as an investigator on former Senator Mitchell's staff.
During the hearing Clemens stated he "never used anabolic steroids or
human growth hormone," while his trainer maintained that he had.

After the theatrics of the Congressional hearing subsided, one would
have thought the issue would be closed. Wrong. It appears some
Representatives need more publicity on the issue. Representative Henry
A. Waxman (D-CA), Chairman of the Committee, and Thomas B. Davis, III
(R-VA), Ranking Member, sent a letter to Attorney General Michael
Mukasey on Wednesday urging the Department of Justice to investigate
whether Clemens perjured himself and made knowingly false statements in
his testimony.

This is what the resources of Congress and the Federal Government are
being used for? Since when does Congress have authority over sports in
the first place? The last time I read the United States Constitution
there was no mention of a power to regulate athletics. But now we have
two days worth of testimony on the issue and a letter urging the
Department of Justice, which is already strained morally and
financially, to waste its limited resources on an investigation into
something over which Congress has no jurisdiction.

After releasing the letter Davis stated, "For the good of the
investigation and integrity of the Committee, we've asked the Department
of Justice to get to the bottom of this." This is utterly ridiculous.
Shame on these Representatives for misusing their power.

The Justice Department ought to ignore this letter, the Congressional
testimony, and everything else involved with the case. Sure, some
performance-enhancing drugs are illegal. If Clemens acted unlawfully he
should be punished by local law enforcement. He also should be denied
induction into the Hall of Fame and have his records/achievements tossed
out. But let's be serious - Congress has no business in baseball.